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Bush were a British alternative rock band formed in London in 1992 by
singer/guitarist Gavin Rossdale and
guitarist Nigel Pulsford.
Their debut album was Sixteen
Stone (1994). They have sold well over 10 million records
in the United States. The band, while hugely successful in the
United States, was less well known in their native UK and enjoyed
only marginal success there.

The group
chose the name "Bush" because they used to live in Shepherd's Bush, London. In Canada, they were once known as
Bushx, because the 1970s band Bush, led by Domenic Troiano, owned the Canadian rights
to the name. In April 1997, it was announced that Troiano had
agreed to let them use the name Bush in Canada without the exponent
x, in exchange for donating $20,000 each to the Starlight Children's
Foundation and the Canadian Music
Therapy Trust Fund.

History

Formation and Sixteen Stone: 1992-1994

After leaving his band Midnight, Gavin Rossdale met former King
Blank guitarist Nigel Pulsford in 1992. The two bonded over an
appreciation of the American alternative rock group the Pixies. The two formed a new band which they called
Future Primitive. Describing the early sound of the group, one
British record label executive said years later, "They weren't what
they are today -- they were a little like the more commercial side
of INXS". The pair recruited bassist Dave
Parsons (formerly of The
Partisans and Transvision Vamp)
and drummer Robin Goodridge to
complete the lineup.

In 1993, the band was signed by Rob Kahane, who had a distribution
deal with Disney's Hollywood Records. The band completed
recording its debut album Sixteen
Stone in early 1994. However, the death of Disney
executive Frank G. Wells eliminated a supporter for Kahane, and
executives at Hollywood deemed Bush's album unacceptable for
release. As a result, the members of Bush had to take job
performing menial labour. Interscope
Records ultimately decided to release the album, and at the end
of 1994, Kahane sent an advance copy of the album to a friend at
influential Los
Angeles radio station KROQ-FM, which
added the song "Everything Zen" to
its rotation.

Razorblade Suitcase: 1996-1998

In late 1996 Bush released the first single "Swallowed" from their second album titled
Razorblade Suitcase,
The song spent seven weeks on top of the Modern Rock Tracks chart. The album hit
number 1 in America and placed high in many European countries.
Although a success, at two hit singles compared to four the album
did not sell as well as Sixteen Stone. Razorblade
Suitcase featured Steve Albini as
the audio engineer, a move which was heavily criticized by critics.
Albini had worked with Nirvana on
their final studio album, In
Utero, only 3 years before. Many claimed they were trying
too hard to sound like the grunge pack. Following the success of
"Swallowed," the album had one more hit, "Greedy Fly," but then failed to produce any more
sizeable hits.

Possibly to boost the sales of Razorblade Suitcase or move into
new ground, Bush released the remix album Deconstructed. The album saw
Bush re-arranging their songs into dance and techno stylings. The
album was a moderate success going platinum less than a year after
release.

The Science of Things: 1999-2000

Following the completion of touring, Rossdale went into seclusion
in Ireland, where he worked on material for the group's next album.
Rossdale periodically sent demo tapes of his works in progress to
his bandmates. The group finally convened to record in London in
August of 1998, where the band reteamed with Sixteen Stone producers Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley.

The release of The Science of
Things was held up by a court battle between the band and
Trauma Records. The case was settled in early 1999 and the album
was finally released that October. The Science of Things
was a major departure in several forms from Bush's first two
albums. Unlike the multi-platinum successes of Bush's first two
albums, this album only limped to platinum. Also, while the band's
previous albums were strongly influenced by grunge, The Science of Things featured heavy
electronic music influences that
distinguished the work from Bush's earlier sound. For example,
although lead single "The
Chemicals Between Us" had a prominent guitar riff, it also had
many electronic elements usually found in dance music. Although the
album had a few hit songs, it failed to chart within the top 10.
The band's performance at Woodstock '99, however, helped The
Science of Things achieve platinum status despite its slow
start.

Three singles were released from The Science of Things,
most notably "The Chemicals
Between Us", which spent five weeks at #1 on the Modern Rock Tracks and peaked at #67 on
the U.S. Hot 100. "Letting the Cables Sleep," the third single,
reached #4 on the Modern Rock Tracks and also received considerable
airplay.

Golden State and breakup: 2001-2002

Bush released its final album, Golden State, in 2001. While the
album attempted to return to the simple, catchy sound of the band's
debut, it failed to achieve commercial success due to a lack of
support from the band's new record label, Atlantic Records. Several singles were
released, most notably the minor hit "The People That We Love", but none
were mainstream successes. The album was the band's least
successful, selling only 380,000 copies in the US.

Pulsford left the band after the release of Golden State
to spend more time with his family. Chris
Traynor took over on lead guitar for the subsequent tour, which
would turn out to be Bush's last.

Due to declining record sales and a lack of support from Atlantic
Records, Bush disbanded in 2002. In 2005, the band released a
greatest hits album called The Best of: 1994-1999, and, a
few months later, a live album called Zen
X Four.

Post-breakup: 2003-present

Gavin Rossdale formed a new band, Institute, in 2004, serving as their lead
vocalist and guitarist, just as in Bush. Chris Traynor also joined
the band, as lead guitarist. (In addition to playing in Institute,
Traynor also joined the reunited metal band Helmet in 2004 on bass; he quit the band in
2006.) Institute released one album, Distort Yourself, but failed to
achieve much commercial success in spite of opening for U2's Vertigo Tour at some
shows. Institute broke up in 2006 and Rossdale then embarked on a
solo career. In 2007, he covered the John
Lennon song "Mind Games" for
the Lennon tribute album
Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save
Darfur. His first solo album, Wanderlust,
supported by leading single "Love Remains the Same," was released
in June 2008. "Wanderlust" was originally intended to be the next
Bush album but after originally agreeing to take part in the Bush
reunion, guitarist Nigel Pulsford opted out as he doesn't care to
tour anymore.

Nigel Pulsford has spent most of his time since leaving Bush
raising his children with his wife. He is currently producing
Emma Holland's long-awaited sophomore
effort. In 2004, he and bassist Dave Parsons reunited to appear in
a car commercial together.

In an interview with Blender,
Gavin Rossdale admitted that the
likelihood of a Bush reunion was "very high". He then added "quite
high," In a November 2008 interview, Rossdale revealed that he had
tried to contact the other members of Bush, "I reached out to
them," however he is currently planning a full-scale solo tour,
which will hit the road in Spring 2009.